The gentle west wind hums/ As it blows in from the lake/ Over the fields and swaying palms/ The soul songs of the waves.
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Friday, September 14, 2007

Pagodas of Arunachal Pradesh.

Tucked away in the north-western corner of India, Arunachal Pradesh has borders with Bhutan, Tibet and Myanmar. The name means ‘Land of the Rising Sun’.It has great scenic beauty with snow clad mountains, streams and rivers, forests of different types, terraced cultivation, herds of yak and mountain sheep.

About 40% of the 1.1 million population (2001 census) are Buddhists. The ‘Tibetan’ Buddhists belong to the Mahayana sect which follows lamaistic traditions. Those living in the eastern part of the state, believed to have originally migrated from Myanmar and Thailand belong to the Hinayana sect.

The pagodas and Buddhist monasteries of Arunachal are great tourist attractions. Pagodas locally called ‘Gompas’ are places of veneration, or temples. The basic style of the pagodas comes from Indian stupas (like the ones shown in the photograph on the left of Rajiv Gandhi Memorial at Sriperambadur, TN, India). But the design has been adapted to suit different geographical locations and cultures.

They are truly beautiful structures. Some photographs of pagodas in Arunachal Pradesh are given below.